Writer: Peter Chai

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Watch this if you liked: “Fortress”, “The Time Machine” & “Dark City”

Fans can surely not forget the excitement following the action sequences seen in Luc Besson's famous "Taxi" and "The Transporter" series. This time however, the French genius collaborates with James Mather and Stephen St.Leger to stun us with some unpredictable and irresistible heart-pumping action scenes with "Lockout".

Set in the year 2079, "Lockout" is based on the unique but troubled prison in space known as 'Maximum Security One'. The American government has been implementing the 'hypersleep' procedure on criminals and place them in outer space as far away from the safe confines of Earth. Unfortunately, terrible things happen when Emilie Warnock (Maggie Grace), the first daughter of the President, is captured by violent prison gangs during her visit to M.S. One. Ex-CIA agent Snow (Guy Pearce) who is mistakenly sentenced to jail, finally finds a way out and takes a chance to rescue Warnock in order to free himself.

Guy Pearce is definitely the man of the show in this 95-minutes action drama. The British-born actor's strong physical and smart interpretation of the action scenes are clearly the factors that contribute to the heroic and fearless persona of Snow. Do not be surprised if Pearce's sense of humour and flirty act makes one think of him as a major jerk, as he will surely captivate audiences with his determination of rescuing Warnock.

The scriptwriters' have done a good job as they are not trying to drag us into long-winded details, however there's a huge gap that allows unwanted predictions of the storyline in this fast-paced sci-fi flick.

There's also something to complain where the CGI effects are concerned, especially in the scene where Snow is chased on a busy road in the futuristic city. It's a perfect example of the utilisation of poor visual effects in a big budgeted movie.

Overall, if one is looking for some exciting "saving the day" type of drama with not much concern over the plot or effects, buy a ticket to watch Guy Pearce in action, and be prepared to face the nasty and violent psychos in "Lockout".

Cinema Online, 16 April 2012